ALAN BEAN We represent the entire collection of Alan Bean.
Call local 403-949-4141 or email us at [email protected] for more information.

The defining moment of the Apollo XIII flight was when oxygen tank number two
of the Odyssey service module exploded. This began what many would consider
America's finest hours in space exploration.

"I have painted the explosion in space as a number of individually distinct particles
streaming away from tank number two. The particles are liquid oxygen, vaporized
tank and wiring and insulation materials - everything near the point of detonation.
I do not believe that an explosive cloud forms in the vacuum of space because
everything I saw in space moved in a straight line. For example, there was no dirt
cloud as we landed on the Moon - just small pieces of dirt radially speeding away.

"This print was created to celebrate the motion picture 'Apollo 13' which tells the
remarkable and inspiring story of how astronauts deep in space and the engineers
on Earth worked together to change an almost fatal tragedy into a triumph
of human skill and spirit."